Al-Nusra Front

History
The Al-Nusra Front is an official offshoot of alQaeda. The name means " The Support Front for
the People of Levant."
It is regarded as one of Syria's main rebel groups.
Its stated objectives include the establishment of
an Islamist state in Syria, and ultimately
throughout the Levant, and in all of the countries
in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Al-Nusra Front has an estimated 5000-7000
members, and is most active in northern Syria.
Is a branch of al-Qaeda operating in Syria and
Lebanon. Since early 2015, there have been
persistent reports of the al-Nusra Front considering
leaving al-Qaeda, with the al-Nusra Front to
abandon its current name and merge with smaller
Islamist groups, such as Jaish al-Muhajireen walAnsar, to form a new entity that will receive
funding from the Gulf States.
The group reaffirmed its allegiance to al-Qaeda
and denied plans to break away in a March 2015
statement.
He group announced its formation on 23 January
2012, during the Syrian Civil War.
Ideology
Al-Nusra aims to overthrow the Assad government
and replace it with a Sunni Islamic state. Although
the group is affiliated with al-Qaeda, al-Nusra does
not emphasize Western targets or global jihad,
focusing instead on the "near enemy" of the
Syrian state. Its goal is to overthrow Bashar alAssad's government in Syria and create an Islamic
Emirate under Sharia law.

Tactics & Support

As of June 2013, al-Nusra Front had claimed
responsibility for 57 of the 70 suicide attacks in
Syria during the conflict.
They have gained support from all other terrorist
groups who are also looking for a completely
Islamic State
Timeline of Attacks
23 December 2011- first bombings which al-Nusra
was suspected of and the first suicide attack of the
war came, killing 44 people and wounding 166.
January 2012- Al- Midan bombings were allegedly
carried out by a fighter named Abu al-Baraa alShami.
10 May 2012 Damascus bombings were allegedly
claimed by al-Nusra Front in an Internet video;
[108] however, on 15 May 2012, someone
claiming to be a spokesman for the group denied
that the organisation was responsible for the
attack, saying that it would only release
information through jihadist forums.
29 May 2012- a mass execution was discovered
near the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor. The
unidentified corpses of 13 men had been
discovered shot to death execution-style.
17 June 2012- Walid Ahmad al-Ayesh, described by
Syrian authorities as the "right hand" of the alNusra Front, was killed when Syrian authorities
discovered his hiding place. He was reportedly
responsible for the making of car bombs.
27 June 2012- a group of Syrian rebels attacked a
pro-government TV station in the town of Drousha,
just south of the capital Damascus. The station's
studios were destroyed with explosives. Seven
people were killed.
3 October- three suicide car bombs exploded at
the eastern corner of the central Saadallah Al-

Jabiri Square killing 48 people

October 2012- they joined other rebels in an
attack on the Wadi Deif base around Maraat al
Numan
December 2013- al-Nusra abducted 13 nuns from
a Christian monastery in Maaloula
July 2013- al-Nusra controls Ash-Shaddadeh, a
town of roughly 16,000
8 August 2014- militants from the group
kidnapped 45 UN peacekeepers from Fiji from
Golan Heights in the United Nations
Disengagement Observer Force Zone.
October 2014- al-Nusra began attacking the Free
Syrian Army and other moderate Islamist groups
that it was formerly allied with, in a bid to
establish its own Islamic state.

Risks to United States

3- They are not a direct risk to the United States
because their target is their target is more aimed
towards forwarding the Islamic Movement in Syria.
They are a branch of Al-Queda that gives them the
ability and access to higher military weapons.
They have had a number of attacks that killed
local and innocent civilians, but not since 2012.
They have been dormant, minus the non-deadly
attacks in 2013, for a while so this has made this
terrorist group less of a concern to the United
States government.

Group Statement- After close evaluation Boko Haram

provides a risk of level 2 to the United States. They are
against all western civilization and Christians. They have
joined forces with ISIS, but organization and military grade
weapons. Their membership is growing and they plan to
recruit large numbers. They are capable of holding a future

attack on the US, but not in the near future.